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Can eczema pass on to another person?

Roshan, 14-year old school going kid was tired of itching, pain, and suffering of eczema. His schoolmates always gave him a weird look while trying to maintain a safe distance from him. People were afraid of getting infected of his itchy skin. He was clueless on how to handle people’s reaction to it and make them understand that eczema is not a contagious disease.

Eczema refers to a set of medical conditions which cause inflammation or irritation on the skin. There are different types of eczema. The most common type is atopic eczema. It is also called as atopic dermatitis.

The main symptoms of eczema are the presence of dry and scaly skin. This commonly occurs in legs and arms. Other sites of infection include knees, scalp, feet, and face. The affected areas might look red and might change their color to brown over time. In some cases, there is also oozing and crusting over the skin in the area. There is no particular vulnerability range for eczema. It can affect young as well as the old. The cause of this condition is not determined accurately. What is known until now is that it is caused due to over activity of one's immune system. The immune system stays in a fight-mode for greater number of factors than it would in a normal person. These factors include environmental, allergens, dry skin, emotional issues, and infection in the upper respiratory system.

Eczema is not contagious. While it cannot spread directly from person to person, it can be inherited. Recently, a group of scientists found a mutation in the CTIP2 gene, which regulates the structure of the skin. It is speculated that this could be connected to eczema. Mutations in the genes can lower the strength of the skin and lead to moisture sneaking into the body. You cannot contract eczema by the things a patient uses or by exchanging fluids with them.

Several factors are responsible for causing eczema (dermatitis/skin allergy); however, the exact origin and mechanism of the conditions are still not clear. Several studies have suggested many factors, including genetic as well as environmental factors that are responsible for triggering eczema.

In most cases, people may show abnormal function in their immune system, where their body responds abnormally to external allergens, which does not harm people with a good immune system.

Homeopathy Treatment for Eczema

Eczema treatment includes options to make you more comfortable by decreasing the allergic response. In allopathic medicine, topical creams are often used to treat skin conditions, such as eczema. According to homeopathy, applying a topical cream on a skin blemish or disorder, such as eczema, may resolve the ‘immediate’ problem on the surface, but can also drive the ‘root’ problem deep into the body, suppressing its expression. This could trigger additional problems, such as asthma.

The best thing to do to healing skin conditions, according to homeopathy, is to treat from the inside-out. This requires a homeopathic medicine for atopic dermatitis, or eczema, which also addresses the whole person and brings their body into better balance. So, while treating the underlying issue — allergy, for instance — your homeopathic doctor will also address the expressive outer symptom, such as eczema.

A study on a group of eczema patients, published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine, reported that homeopathy was as effective as standard conventional treatments in the short-term and more effective than the latter in the long-term.

A six-year study of treatment outcomes at the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital, UK, also found that 82 per cent of eczema patients, all aged less than 16, felt ‘better’ or ‘much better’ with homeopathic treatment.

Self-Help

Wear cotton clothing; try to maintain an even temperature in your surroundings, since rapid temperature changes can cause itching

Avoid clothes and bed covers made of scratchy synthetics, wool and other materials with a rough texture, as these can irritate the skin

Hot baths can cause itching; tepid water is better

Keep finger nails short to help prevent damage to skin caused by scratching

As far as possible, avoid any known triggers that you feel can aggravate your eczema

Don’t get overheated. After an active workout, or after engaging in some sport, dab sweat away with a damp cloth and pat dry or shower as soon as you can, because sweating can irritate the skin and lead to itching.